Time in..
 

I made a comment where I stated that most reefers don't last 5 years. Let's have a poll to check :)

Time in being time that a reef tank is set up without crashing or time in the hobby?

I won't say I'm in it for the long haul things happen and desicions have to be made but as of right now I am planning to be in it for a good while.

started in 2003 :biggrin: had at least 2 tanks running at all times, dont plan on stopping ever. I have had my gold/grey dogface for a decade now.

Lets say time in total. I noticed while browsing the FTS thread from a few years ago that so many of the people are gone.

Just coming up on 3 years. It was an accidental hobby for me....can't say what the future holds, but no plans to quit anytime soon.

9 months.The first 6 of which were very trying on my patience lol.No plans to stop now.

Have had freshwater for 30 years, but this is my first go at salt. I love fish-keeping so I can see myself doing this forever. If my system fails I will just try again!

Still in.. But at a much easier level. Sold off my big tank and not growing frags any more. I still have my RSM, 2 deep sea nanos and a small nano. I'm too busy ( insert old and lazy ) to spend as much time with my tanks as I used to.

Three years now. And im hoping to figure it all out soon and keep on keepin on

ive had fresh for over 10 and salt for 4 now, didnt really get into sps until last year tho

1.5 years (only :redface:). And I may quite if T5s/MH are no longer manufactured (heard that Europe will stop producing T5s by 2015; just heard).

It'll be 3 years in february. Many challenges. The more I know, the less I realize I know. Guess I'm a sucker for punishment. Still love it tho and don't expect to quit any time soon.

Started in 2006 had many tanks learned a lot of lessons and hope to continue to learn. Went for a few months without a tank in this house it was running in the other house while we moved and as frustrating as they are at times we really missed having the fish.

As for reefers disappearing, I think a lot of it is no longer on the website I j ow of a lot of tanks still running and the people left canreef, mostly because of political reasons.

About four years. For the most part keeping it simple has kept me in it. That and genetic gene disorder called obsessivecollectoritis

I have 2 Display Tanks in my system.

The 180G was set up in January of 2003 when I moved into my current house.

The 125G was set first set up in 1995 in my old home. When I moved into my current home in January 2003 I moved its contents of the 125G to the new 180G just set up in my new home. In March of 2003 I completed the move of my old 125G by adding it to the display in my new home.

One could easily say that I am in for the long haul.

Tom R

4 yrs in October & this year is going to be a GREAT yr for my new system.

I got a sea turtle off Ancient Mariner on Fraser st. in Vancouver in 1973 that I raised until it started chasing my 140$ Flame Angel so I gave it to Vancouver aquarium and they raised it to breeding age then sent it to Japan for breeding. It was a Hawksbill and time flys

since 2002. Started FOWLR, >corals, >crash, >FOWLR but starting back towards a reef, just not sure what type (SPS vs LPS/soft)

Wow!!!!

Fresh water 20+ years and salt 5+ and hopefully longer :)

1st freshwater aquarium was glass with stainless steel frame and I bought my fish from Woolco (now Walmart) in Calgary. 40 years ago.
1st saltwater aquarium was in 1983 bought from Brighouse Pets in Richmond, B.C. I had a couple of clowns and an anemone. They sold me a bottle of liquid brown goo to "feed invertebrates" , the anemone basically. Skimmer with an air stone and Instant Ocean salt. Incandescent bulb.
I've had some kind of aquarium or lived on the ocean ever since.

If you want to include my fresh water days been keeping tanks since I was 16 1986 had a goldfish tank for 3 yrs finally killed it(learned hard way dish soap and fish do not mix)

got back into it 1997 ran 33 gallon then 2 yrs later a 10 gallon by 2000 had 46 gallon, 33 and 10 going finally quit in 2010

July 2012 entered the empty wallet phase been looking for money ever since

Sounds like my first tank, got it in '69 or '70. Moved into salt around 1997. Gawd, I'm old!!

Ha. You're just a pup.

I remember reading somewhere awhile back that the average reef enthusiast has been in the hobby for 18 months. Of course, when polling an online community you don't get a real accurate representation. I think you will find a good many on here over 5 years. :)

Ya, it seems we have a lot of 5+ members. But from what I've seen, I see a lot more leaving in under 2. Maybe they just stop coming here (not that I think anyone would not want to come here!!)

Had to ask my wife. Time flys spring of 1999 for me.

I just hit 10 years as of this month.

Brad, I think that might be because people have a reasonable handle on their tank by year two, and don't need daily advice such as, "What are these bugs on my glass?!?!" I've found most reefers are quite happy keeping a basic reef with a bunch of softies and some fish.

1 break-up, daughters graduation + 1 year, too many tanks to count, a couple of up grades, a few new pets, a few less pets, many grey hairs...to sum it up 5 + years for me and no intentions of giving up now.

+1, the pole will be very bias. The average reefer is not on a forum. Typically its just the hardcore people and they will be in the hobby for a longer period of time (typically)

I think if you can get past 2 years, you will be in the hobby for a while. Lots of people have big ideas at the beginning, and then get frustrated and lose patience when they run into problems. And they don't like the mundane tasks like cleaning and changing water...

Then there are those that have climbed every mountain, and just got bored. Those are the 5+ years people. Don't know what the solution to that is.

But the true long timers, I think, just go slow, minimize/automate their maintenance, and don't set any big goals. They just enjoy the beauty and serenity that the reef tank adds to their home.

I am still in between. I still have some mountains to climb, and some goals. But some day hope to reach the serenity plateau.

This week will be the 7th anniversary of my system. I recall my daughter & I driving to Richmond to pick up the used rig. Borrowed my Mom & Dad's station wagon 'cause there's no way a 77 emptied of LR with all the assorted parts were going to fit into the Saturn I owned at the time! A hectic day or two, drive to OK Falls to pick up station wagon, on to the coast & back to Vernon over snow covered highway passes same day, then bring station wagon back to OK Falls...

I was always fascinated by aquariums but never owned a tank until I found out about salt water a few years before jumping in. Once I knew I'll never move again, it was an easy choice. My previous career had me moving every 4 years, so tear down/setup every few years would have been too much of a hassle.

I love using the forums it is a great way to keep in contact with people, learn new ideas and new tech, learn why some things work and not others, keep abreast of news related to the hobby and even though get xx amount of questions on basic IDs daily/weekly I enjoy it because people new to the hobby are worried and I rarely tire of answering those simple questions.

Also many people are worried about getting yelled at or ridiculed or may have limited knowledge of using forums and their search engines(Case in Point...Reef Central)

For every person that posts on an average forum there is an average 5-7 people who lurk which when you think about it is a huge number of people who browse but rarely if ever post.(BTW this stat comes from online gaming community which is a pretty standard representation of most of the popular online forums)

As to the hobby if you get past the 18month to 2 yr mark I think it is a fairly safe bet that the person will be in the hobby for many yrs to come. Many people as it was stated earlier get frustrated by prices, crashes, basic husbandry and then get out of the hobby mostly because it I believe is a lack of proper knowledge and asking the wrong people for advice.

I believe it's been just over 10 yrs of reefing for me.

ya, unfortunately we're not going to see the results from all of those people who in fact, have left.

I've been kicking this can since 2001.. yikes.

I think my first SW tank was online in 1998, so 16 years now. :eek:

since 2006 for me with many breaks. i don't have the brainpower to calculate my time spent actually being salty.

OMG lol this is the greatest story I've ever heard Harry!!!! How big was it when you got it?